Laughable Kate Middleton prediction may come true at US Open

Tennis fans have fallen in love with two teen sensations, but the royal family was on board well before everyone else jumped on the bandwagon.

Tennis fans are set to be treated to a US Open women’s final of historic proportions.

Teenagers Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez will face off after they both overcame much-fancied opponents in their respective semi-finals in New York.

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Raducanu defeated Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari in straight sets, while Fernandez beat world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set epic.

The young pair has taken the tennis world by storm to set up the first all-teenager final at the US Open since Serena Williams played Martina Hingis in 1999. Fernandez has just turned 19, while Raducanu is only 18.

The duo’s meteoric rise has broken numerous records. Both are the youngest grand slam finalists since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17.

Raducanu is also the first ever qualifier to make a grand slam final and is also the first British woman to reach a major final since Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be among those cheering for the young gun.

“What an incredible achievement at this year’s #USOpen @EmmaRaducanu!” read a tweet from Kate and William’s official social media account.

“We will all be rooting for you tomorrow. Wishing you the best of luck!”

The support comes after the royals, tongue firmly in cheek, predicted Raducanu would win Wimbledon earlier this year despite being ranked outside the top 300, jokingly describing the pick as an “unbiased opinion”.

It was a laughable claim at the time, given Raducanu was essentially unhear of three months ago, but Kate and Williams could soon be right about her becoming a grand slam champion if Sunday’s result goes her way.

Emma Raducanu has taken the US Open by storm. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

Tennis🎾 - Emma Raducanu🇬🇧 (18) v Leylah Fernandez🇨🇦 (19) is the 4th all-teenage women's US Open final in the Open era

1988 - Steffi Graf (19) df Gabriela Sabatini (18)
1997 - Martina Hingis (16) df Venus Williams (17)
1999 - Serena Williams (17) df Martina Hingis (18)#USOpen

— Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) September 10, 2021

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a sensational US Open — not dropping a set during her six matches in the main draw on top of her three matches in qualifying.

On the other hand, Fernandez has been on a giant-killing run, defeating four players in the top 20. The Canadian beat two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka in the third round, then 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth round.

Fernandez followed that up with victories over world No. 5 Elina Svitolina and then Sabalenka.

Both Fernandez and Raducanu are set to become international megastars, but it’s not the only similarity they share. They were both born in Canada to immigrant families. Raducanu’s father is Romanian and her mother is Chinese. The family moved to Britain when Raducanu was two-years-old.

Fernandez is from Montreal but has Filipino heritage from her mother and Ecuadorean and Peruvian heritage from her father and coach Jorge.

Leylah Fernandez has been on an epic giant-killing streak. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

The 19-year-old had the more prestigious junior career of the teenage duo, winning the French Open girls’ title and reaching the Australian Open girls’ final in 2019.

Fernandez defeated Raducanu 6-2 6-4 in their only previous match at the girls’ singles at Wimbledon in 2018.

Raducanu has impressed with her fearless style of play during her run to the final at Flushing Meadows and her fourth-round result at Wimbledon.

Fans have also been struck by how composed she is on the big stage, especially for someone appearing in the main draw of a grand slam for just the second time.

“Honestly the time here in New York has gone so fast,” she said after her semi-final win.

“I’ve just been taking care of each day and three weeks later I’m in final. I can’t actually believe it.

“Today I wasn’t thinking about anyone else except for myself. While I have the moment I want to thank my team and the LTA and everyone at home for all their support.

“Since I’ve been here from the first round of the quallies I’ve had unbelievable support.”

The entire British population has fallen in love with Raducanu, who looks set to become the nation’s next tennis sensation.

She only played her first match on the main WTA Tour a few weeks before Wimbledon, where she earnt a last-minute wildcard to head into the grand slam as the lowest-ranked British player.

Incredibly, she entered the tournament’s second week as the only remaining Brit and became the youngest Englishwoman to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon since Christine Truman in 1959 when she toppled Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in straight sets.

Raducanu was No. 338 on the WTA rankings ahead of her maiden grand slam tournament a few months ago, but moved into the top 200 courtesy of her run at the All England Club.

Raducanu started playing tennis at five years old. A shy child, her parents encouraged her to try different ­hobbies to boost her confidence.

“Dad threw me into every sport you could imagine. I was doing horseriding, swimming, tap dancing, basketball, skiing, golf, go-karting. All alongside tennis,” she said.

At 12, she won her first International Tennis Federation under-18 trophy. In 2018, she made it to the Wimbledon junior quarter-finals.

A new grand slam champion will be crowned in the historic US Open final, which gets underway at 6am on Sunday (AEST).